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Inspiring Loyal Believers

A large part of my role as a Crossfit coach is to promote what I believe and show my clients and gym members what works for me, namely the benefits of fitness and a healthy lifestyle. I use my education, experience and a healthy dose of experimentation to share what I know, and convince others they need what I am trying to give them. How I present myself to other people, and how I create connections, and ultimately, how I make a living, are all contingent on how well I establish a foundation of authenticity. Authenticity and transparency are two attributes that help create loyal believers and I want to talk a bit about how loyal believers are the foundation of any successful movement or process.

I started the year with a rant, and while it feels good to get that off my chest, I’m going to downshift this week, and start a discussion about how we inspire each other, and how that inspiration turns in to a process, and how that process eventually helps us achieve our desired results. For any movement to be successful, or for any process to produce results, the individual participating in that process must be a loyal believer in the process, and that loyalty must be inspired by leaders who choose to set a positive (albeit not perfect) example. As a movement gains momentum, the followers continue to observe a leader’s actions and behaviors, and if authenticity is maintained, the likelihood of those followers “drinking the Kool-Aid” and committing to the process grows exponentially. No matter what kind of process or movement you are involved with, we all need mentors or provocateurs with good intentions to push us in to new and uncomfortable territory because we so rarely have the gumption to go to those places on our own.

We all struggle when confronting the part of ourselves we need to change. When the struggle becomes too much, it is appropriate to ask someone else for help, motivation, and information. I hear gripes and whines and excuses all the time about how “difficult” it is to make time for training. I hear moans and groans about how “hard” it is to eat enough protein, or sleep more than 5 hours a night, or drink 64 oz of water in one day. I love hearing these gripes and moans because this shared struggle is one way connection and community are established, and helping people find solutions to these challenges is what makes my job so interesting and exciting!! On a daily basis, I strive to create a community of people who practice encouraging each other. On a daily basis, I thrive on creating an atmosphere in our gym where anything less that your 100% is unacceptable, where there is no qualifying your effort as long as you are committed to the process. On a daily basis, I am rewarded when I see people overcome challenges, build mental and physical strength, and achieve their goals.

As you continue to forge a path in this New Year, I encourage to ask yourself if you are a loyal believer. Do you observe you current health status and your current physical abilities and decide that maintenance and optimal performance are optional? If your physical body and the duties you are able to perform contribute to your self-image and self-worth, I encourage you to commit your time and effort and consciousness to process of making yourself better today than you were yesterday. As you evaluate the goals you are chasing and the processes you are involved in, ask yourself if what you are chasing with change your lifestyle in a positive way. Are you committed to being better today, in some way, than you were yesterday?

Answer these questions, and then shoot me few lines and let me know how you are progressing in this New Year. I look forward to hearing from you :). As always, thank you for reading my words, and for participating in the Living Revolution!!

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2 thoughts on “Inspiring Loyal Believers”

Hello Tobias, I love your postings. They always get me thinking. I really love how you touched on sharing in the struggle of others, community is the key to life (I believe).

This year has brought me to a very difficult place. As you know, weight and fitness have ALWAYS been a struggle for me. So I have ignored my health for more years8 then I care to admit. In November I had a sever allergic reaction to something (maybe dairy, maybe gluten , maybe refined sugars). Since allergy tests are expensive i decided to go to what I have already learned and had chosen not to apply. I started doing whole30 on 1.7.15 and I have had no allergic reactions and I do feel better. I have seen some significant weight loss but this time it’s not about that for me. It’s about health and evolving into the person I want to be. In doing this I am now motivated to be more active and go back to CFW and start from scratch AGAIN. It’s hard to go BACK to a gym where I trained before and failed to keep coming back.

It’s about to get real: I also learned last year I’m an alcoholic and by quitting drinking back in April I have been able to make lasting changes. Drinking is not only empty sugar calories but it would cause me to overeat and binge eat too.

Lots of good herby changes for me and I am excited to be on this new path. I believe in myself again and am excited for the future.

I sure would love to train with you again. I hope our paths cross again. You will always will be my favorite CrossFit coach (at least until jake gets his cert).

Thank you so much for sharing your story here. I appreciate your openness and transparency. It is so much easier for a community to support and commiserate with each other when we share our stories and recognize how our unique experiences hold lessons for other people as well. I know these areas of your life have been long term challenges and I commend your persistence and motivation, keep up the good work! It sounds like you have a solid plan of action, and I encourage you to stick with what works for you, for as long as it works for you. By that I mean, don’t be afraid to explore and experiment; sometimes solutions come from the most unlikely source. Also, ask for help, when you need it. I’d love to chat with you, and if you are interested in training, you should come visit me down at Crossfit PE. If you want more info or if you just want to continue this conversation in another venue, please send an email my way “tobias.shea.livingrevolution@gmail.com”. I look forward to updates as you pursue this new lifestyle, go get it! Until next time…Peace.Tobias.